Sparks fly from LATAM plane during dramatic emergency landing

The spectacle was caught on camera from several angles

A LATAM plane made an emergency landing on Tuesday, with sparks seen shooting from its undercarriage as it touched down in Medellin, Colombia.

The Airbus A32 had taken off from Medellin at 7.15pm on 29 March, headed for Cartagena, when pilots reported a fault with the front landing gear.

The crew on flight 4292 decided to circle above Medellin airport for 45 minutes in order to burn fuel, before attempting to land back at their departure point.

The incident was captured on camera from several angles, with Breaking Aviation News and Videos posting a clip of the plane careering along the runway with sparks flying at its wheels.

All 147 passengers and the flight crew touched down in Medellin unharmed.

Meanwhile, another account, @CBonlinecali, posted video of the passengers inside the plane during the landing.

“Moments of tension experienced by travellers of @LATAM_CO. The crew and passengers are well at the airport,” reads the video caption.

Passengers are seen hugging, crying and shouting as the crew makes alarmed-sounding announcements and the aircraft trembles.

Colombian radio station BLU Antioquia reported that some passengers claimed to have noticed issues with the aircraft before take-off and alerted LATAM staff, but allege they were ignored while boarding went ahead.

One of the 147 passengers, Marco Castro, alleged that he had noticed “anomalies” with the aircraft as well as the nose landing gear being inspected at the airport, but was told that everything was in order.

The flight circled Medellin airport for 45 minutes to burn fuel before landing (Flightradar24)

“They were told, hey, tell us the truth about what’s going on. That plane has problems with the landing gear,” Mr Castro told Blu Atioquia.

“They told us no, it was due to weather conditions. However, they put us on the plane that way because we were upset, since that morning. After 20 minutes the captain tells us that we have to return.”

The Independent has contacted LATAM for comment.